Page 32 of Playing Flirty

My throat was thick with fear… fear of what? Achieving a dream or failing at it?

Shaun’s light blue eyes were soft even though he wore the Ashdern scowl.

“Please go for your lunchtime workout.” I turned away, hoping Shaun didn’t spot the way I pined for the exact thing he was encouraging me to do. “I have work to do.”

Shaun blew out a breath and stood. “Fine. But we’re not done here.”

“We are. I don’t have the capacity to even think about this.”

It was an absolute lie, as that was all I did for the rest of the day.

Your game would be played everywhere.

Was it bad that I was happy Patrick was away for work? Was it even worse that, when he returned, I used my MBA as an excuse not to see him? Because that’s what happened, and it almost made doing the MBA worth it.

It wasn’t untrue. My deadlines were approaching, and I was running out of time. So much so that I was prepared to give up game night. But Shaun and Neema lured me in by telling me they needed my help with wedding planning.

I straightened my fitted black pencil skirt as Shaun opened the door to his apartment. Inside, William was sprawled on the couch, taking up more space than any one person should. His legs were spread wide, and his head dipped back with hiseyes lowered to the screen in front of him. It was a miracle he could see through those stupidly long eyelashes.

As soon as I stepped inside, William’s gaze snapped up and then traveled down to my heeled boots. “Did you walk here in those?” He glanced back up at me. “Looking to twist the other ankle?”

“Hello, William. It’s nice to see you too.” I used my snarky tone, maintaining just enough eye contact for him to wonder whether it was true.

It was.

A wide, friendly smile flashed across his face, and it was all too easy to reciprocate.

Fingers tapped across my back, and I spun around to face Lincoln. He lifted a sealed glass container. “Dal for you. My mom wants her container back.” He lifted another box. “Jalebi, to share.”

“Thank you!” I shrieked, already salivating.

He offered me his trademark half smile and slipped by. Claire came up behind him and pulled me in for a hug. It had been a while since she had joined for game night.

And since Claire rarely gave hugs, Neema joined us, and seconds later Shaun came bouncing over. “You’re not group hugging without me.” Shaun turned toward us, his arms thrown wide.

William shook his head. “You people are ridiculous.”

“Wanna join?” I teased.

“I’d rather drink acid.”

I couldn’t resist giggling, especially once I caught sight of the light bouncing around in his eyes as he said it.

Playing Nice was so much easier than whatever it was we were doing before. I’d have to thank Shaun for it someday.

A sharp rap on the door, followed by Patrick’s business voice, signaled his unexpected arrival. My anxiety peaked, which was one of my newer reactions to seeing my boyfriend. I opened the door to greet him, but he was grumbling at whomever he was talking to, his phone squeezed between his ear and shoulder and his laptop open in the palm of his left hand.

“I’ll call you back with an update soon,” Patrick barked into his phone before hanging up. He gave me a quick peck on the cheek. “Hey, babe.”

“You came,” Neema said from behind me, a flash of white as she smiled.

I opened my mouth to say something, but he cut me off and gestured to his laptop. “I have a deadline.”

“I see.” I searched the depths of my soul for even the slightest desire to offer him a hug or to place my lips against his, but there was no urgency.

How do those feelings disappear? Where do they go? The island with all the missing socks and plastic container lids?

Patrick sat down with his laptop and inserted his noise-canceling earbuds before continuing his work with a deep frown of concentration.

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